Mexican Armed Forces

The Mexican Armed Forces (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas de México) are the military of the United Mexican States. They are composed of two independent branches: the Mexican Army—which includes land forces, the Mexican Air Force, the Special Forces Body, and the National Guard—and the Mexican Navy, which includes naval forces, the Naval Infantry Force (marines), the Naval Aviation, the Maritime Search and Rescue unit (coast guard), and the Marine Special Forces. The first permanent military force on Mexican soil was established by Spain during the colonial era in the eighteenth century. After Mexican independence in 1821, the military played an important political role, with army generals serving as heads of state. Following the collapse of the Federal Army during the 1910–1920 Mexican Revolution, former revolutionary generals systematically downsized the size and power of the military. Subsequently the Mexican Armed Forces are constitutionally under the civil authority of the federal government of Mexico. The Army and Navy are controlled by two separate government departments, the Secretariat of National Defense and the Secretariat of the Navy, and maintain two independent chains of command, with the joint command being Mexico's cabinet of security and the president of Mexico.